1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to door track and roller systems for a sliding door and frame to prohibit an unwanted removal ofthe sliding door out of the door track as by a person lifting it therefrom, and is useful for sliding doors generally from building sliding doors to sliding door as are used in merchandise showcases, and the like.
2. Prior Art
Sliding doors are commonly used for covering openings in buildings, as well as in to retail store display cases or showcases that incorporate glass front, side and even back walls to prominently display products, for example. Such sliding glass doors, however, generally suffer from a like problem or deficiency in that, even when locked to one another, or to a frame surface, a person seeking access can often lift the door top edge into an upper track, and displace the door lower edge out of a lower track, that can then be rotated away from that lower track, allowing the door to be removed. The present invention remedies such problems by a utilization of a lower door track that includes at least one track section that has an opening between flanges that are inwardly bent edge portions of channel sides top edges, with the door to travel in the opening between which flanges and incorporates door roller assemblies where each roller of the an assembly is journaled to an axle that extends beyond the sides of a sliding door carriage. The axle ends to block passage of the roller assembly up through the opening between the door track opposing flanges, prohibiting the sliding door from being lifted out of the door track.
Heretofore arrangements have been employed to guide rollers that are journaled to a sliding door along a frame mounted track, and examples of such are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,444,349; to Leeds, U.S. Pat. No. 1,956,651; to Moran, U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,615; to Moose, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,829, to Wilson, which, Leeds, Moose and Wilson patents have also provided for maintaining a roller of the assembly within a track, so as to prohibit lifting of the roller out from that track when the door is closed. Such arrangements, however, have not involved a use of a roller axle whose ends engage flanges of a track to prohibit lifting of the roller therethrough as does the invention. Similarly, a U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,803, to George, includes side walls wherebetween a roller is journaled and includes terminal portions to extend partially around a round track that the roller travels along, and a U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,293, et al., to Egan, Jr., shows a frame whereacross a roller is journaled that is contained between walls of a frame housing and includes right angle side walls edges that extend outwardly and are maintained in and below inwardly directed flanges of a track. The respective side wall edges and track flanges of the George and Egan, Jr., et al. patents, however, are only to guide travel of a door roller assembly along the track and door removal would appear to be possible if the door and roller where canted relative to the track whereon the roller rests. Further, of course, the structure of these patents is unlike that of the roller and axle arrangement and track flanges of the present invention.
While the above show an assortment of sliding door arrangements for mounting door rollers to rest on and travel along tracks, and several thereof show arrangements for discouraging lifting of the sliding door out of the track, none, however, shown a roller axle arrangement and track side walls with inturned flange arrangement like that of the invention. Whereby, a simple and reliable roller assembly and track to prohibit lifting of a locked sliding door out of its track is provided by the invention.